Sibling Dinner: Coconut Beef Noodle 'Stewp'

For last night's sibling dinner I made a curry coconut beef noodle "stewp."
Not quite a stew, not quite a soup. 

Before preparing the broth, mix the meat in the following marinade and allow it to sit for at least half an hour.

Beef with Marinade: 

- 3 lbs. stew meat

- 2 tbsp. cilantro

- Lime juice (1 lime)

- 1 tbsp. chopped garlic

- 1 tbsp. lemongrass paste 

- Generous amount of salt

Mix thoroughly and reserve on the side at room temperature while you prepare the broth.

Don't skimp on the salt during this step-
the salt helps to tenderize the beef.

Because I was pretty generous with the salt during this step, I didn't add any additional salt to the broth. So be sure to use your discretion when seasoning later.

Broth:

- Equal parts bone broth and coconut milk. 

(In my case that was 32 oz. of each)

- 2 cups of diced onions 

- 2 cups julienned carrots/spiralized carrots [you can use the carrot noodles that they sell in Whole Foods as an alternative]

- 3 tbsp. curry powder 

- 2 tsp. cilantro

- 2 tsp. ground ginger

- 1/2 tsp. soy sauce

- 3 drops fish sauce

- 2 tsp. safflower oil 

At the very last moment you will need:

- Thin rice noodles 

Caramelize the onions in the oil before adding the rest of the ingredients. Add the rest of the broth's ingredients.

Allow the broth to come to a simmer while you sear the beef in a separate pan.
Add the meat to the broth. 

Cook at a simmer over medium-low heat for one hour. 

Right before serving add the rice noodles (they only need about 3 minutes to cook). 

I served the "stewp" with several garnishes so the boys could customize each bowl according to their  taste. 

Garnishes: 

Shishito peppers 

Bean sprouts 

Napa cabbage with soy sauce and eggs

Scallions 

Avocado slices

Braised Leg of Lamb with a Red Currant Glaze

There is this incredible little butcher near me that has the freshest cuts of meat around. I went in there with the intention of getting veal-shanks for Ossobuco but I didn't get there until after work and they had already sold out. So I got a leg of lamb. I decided to braise it to see if I could keep it from being too gamey, and I ended up being very happy with the results

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. 

Prep the meat with the spices and a little bit of flour. 

I used black pepper, onion powder, fresh thyme, garlic, chives and flour.

Take the pot that you will be cooking the lamb in, and heat it on the stovetop. I thought I would get a better sear on the fat using butter as opposed to olive oil.  

Sear all sides of the lamb, approximately 2-3 minutes per side. 

Add the liquid that you will be using. I used one part sparkling peach juice, 1 part red wine and 2 parts stock. 

Bake in the oven for 4 hours. 

20 minutes prior to removing the lamb from the oven add in the vegetables that you will be serving with it. I added potatoes, parsnips, carrots and leeks. 

Also, a simple way to do a glaze is to take a jelly and spread it over the meat just before you're about to remove it from the oven. Brush it liberally over the side of the leg and allow it to roast. 

Once you take it out of the oven you can reserve the juices and serve with the lamb once it is sliced and served.